The Potters Who Lived
by Paper Stories
Summary: What would Harry's time at Hogwarts have been like if he was never an orphan, never forced the live with the Dursleys, aware of his powers before he could even speak? And what of Ron and Hermione? Planned to be novel length. May contain strong language.


_This has been on my mind for a while, I wanted to guess what Harry's time at Hogwarts would be like if he was not forced to spend his childhood with the Dursleys. Obviously this won't follow story canon, but big events will still take place and of course the characters will still be the same (although events may change them). May be from Ron and Hermione's points of view in the future. Will contain strong language at some points. Hope you enjoy it, review if you do!_

_Harry Potter is Jo Rowling's, not mine!_

* * *

Halloween night, 1981.

A man walks slowly along a dirt road. He is looking for someone, but they are nowhere to be seen.

He had arrived at the hiding place of the Potters secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew, and discovered him to be missing. There was no sign of a struggle, which led him to believe that something had gone terribly wrong. In a panic he ran from the place to his motorbike. He paused for a moment, this called for a more urgent measure. He rose his wand out infront of him.

"Expecto patronum!"

A huge scruffy looking dog emerged from a trail of silvery smoke and turned to the man.

"Go to James, tell him."

The dog bounded off into the distance, its glowing silver form disappearing into the night sky like a shooting star. The man paced back and forth in the minutes between another's arrival. _Crack!_ A sound like a twig breaking echoed through the dark street. A man with a messy head of jet black hair and circular lensed glasses stood where just a moment ago there was nothing.

"Sirius! The message, is it true?" He gasped, his chest rising and falling at great speeds.

"I may be wrong, but the risk was not one I care to take James, I did not expect you to come here. If what I fear is true Lily will require your protection!" Sirius whispered in a tone of distress.

"I had to be sure you were right, and if what you fear is true, she may need more than just _my_ protection." James stated, pointing his wand towards Sirius to cast a charm that would allow him to step foot in his place of hiding, "Fidelius!"

The two apparated immediately, the space around them disappeared with a crack, and they were standing at the gate of an old cottage. It would have appeared to be the most peaceful village in the world if the front door of this house had not been blown off of its hinges by some form of explosion, no doubt by something magical. The two men dived through the garden and into the doorway, Sirius held out his arm to slow his friend and pressed a finger to his lips. There were people shouting on the floor above over the sound of the cries of a child as they slowly climbed the steps in silence.

"Step aside you silly girl, I have no reason to harm you. It is the boy I came here for!" Shouted a harsh, high pitched hiss of a voice.

"No, please. Not Harry, please! No! Don't kill him, take me. Kill me instead!" Shouted a distressed woman.

"This is my last warning-" The man spat in reply.

"Not Harry, please- have mercy! NOT HARRY! Please, I'll do anything." She cried.

"You live me with no choice, Ava-"

In a matter of seconds it happened, Sirius dived and pushed Lily out of the way of the killing curse and James called out his sons name as he dived in front of him in Lily's place.

"No! HARRY!" James yelled, a flash of green filled the room just before his limp body slumped lifelessly onto the ground.

The snake-like man yelled out in anger, He aimed his wand at a child who sat crying in a cot behind his father's still body, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The woman yelled in fear, they had both been taken from her. Her screams were however mimicked by the snake like man, he clutched at his body as if the veins beneath his skin were boiling, his form began to crumble as his skin turned to dust and he was reduced to ashes. A wisp of black bellowing smoke rose from them, the smoke boar the face of the angry snake like man. The wraith glided across the room and out of an open window as the blood curdling scream faded. The boy was still crying.

"No, but, impossible! This is impossible." Cried Sirius, rising from the heap he had fell to as he had tackled Lily. "How could he have survived the killing curse?"

Both walked cautiously towards the crib, staring at the child in awe. Sirius got down on his knees and closed James' lifeless eyes, his hands shaking.

"Harry, oh Harry!" Lily took the child into her arms and held him as though she may never let go. She tilted her head and laid a kiss on his forehead. "Sirius! What is this?"

They both looked at the boy, he had a lightning bolt shaped gash on his forehead.

"And why was the Dark Lord going to allow you to live? It was disturbing to see him so merciful... Lily, please, wait here. I'll bring help." He said shaking from head to toe as he looked down at James' still body, "Oh, my dear friend."

_Crack!_

Lily spent these moments crouched over the body of her husband, still holding tightly on to her young son who had now been soothed to drift off to sleep. Her tears fell silently onto James' face.

"He died to protect you Harry; he loved you more than anything." Lily whispered into her sons' ear.

She placed him back in the crib where he lay peacefully unaware of the night that had changed his life forever and placed a blanket over the body of her husband.

_Crack! Crack! Crack!_

"Frank, Alice, you're safe. Thank goodness." Lily called out, hugging the man and woman who had just apparated in front of her holding a small baby who appeared to be the same size as Harry.

"I am so sorry Lily, James... I... I can't imagine. The order have contacted the Auror office about Pettigrew, they should track him down in no time." Alice shook her head, "But what of he who must not be named?"

Sirius looked up from where Harry laid peacefully sleeping, "It appears that _you know who_ was no match for little Harry here."


End file.
